


Smile, Potts

by foolyoulove



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Vacation, Venice, snapshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-13
Updated: 2012-07-13
Packaged: 2017-11-09 21:10:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/458469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foolyoulove/pseuds/foolyoulove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“ 'You and I have been here before.  We have not, as... you know... <i>us</i>.' ”  Tony & Pepper finally get their executive retreat in Venice.  Pure fluff, with the exception of a veiled reference to a specific moment in Afghanistan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smile, Potts

**Author's Note:**

> All fluff; no shame. Inspired by the prompts “Venice” and “Snapshot” in the its_always_been LJ community Challenge #13.

~ ~ ~ ~

It took several weeks of cleanup and transitions and convincing, but Tony had finally gotten Pepper to agree to that two-person 'company retreat' in Venice.  They had been out on foot since late morning, wearing simple disguises that, so far, seemed to be working.  Pepper had done a brown rinse on her hair, her loose braid and simple sundress incongruous with her usual buttoned-up appearance.  Tony had let some beard grow in to camouflage his distinctive goatee and was wearing a hat and sunglasses combination that screamed 'tourist' in a truly tragic way.  They had started at the north end of the Grand Canal; Pepper didn't realize until they reached the Ponte dell'Accademia near the opposite end that they'd been meandering through the city for hours. 

As they crossed the bridge, Tony stopped, looked around to confirm a break in the pedestrian traffic, and stripped off his hat and sunglasses.  He held his cell phone at arm's length and used his other arm to grab her around the waist.  “Smile, Potts.”

“Need to update your MySpace page, Mr. Stark?”

“Who the hell uses MySpace anymore?  Stop snarking and smile.”  He sounded a little irritated; she could never figure out why MySpace, which used to be a favorite target of mockery for him, had become such a sore spot.  He shook his head a little and softened his tone.  “Anyway, I just want a picture to remember our first trip to Europe.”

She moved to stand next to him with a slightly confused look. “We've been to Europe dozens of times.”

“You and I have been here before.  _We_ have not, as... you know... _us_.  Picture.”

Pepper bit back a smile at the sentiment and decided to give him a peck on the cheek at the same time he happened to snap a photo.  “Oh!  I wasn't ready.  Do it again.”

Tony obliged as she smiled toward the camera.

“Let me see.”  She motioned for his phone.

“In a second.”  He replaced his disguise, then tapped away at the screen for a minute.  “Huh.  Hey, Pepper, I think this thing still thinks we're in a different time zone.  What time does yours say?”

“Um, I'll check.”  She pulled her phone out of her purse, unlocked it, and found that Tony had somehow changed the wallpaper without touching it; this was one of those things that should have been startling, but was almost mundane by Tony Stark standards.  The picture itself, though, was surprisingly beautiful for a cell phone snapshot of two people traveling incognito: the Grand Canal was the backdrop for smudgy-bearded Tony smiling brightly, with a brunette version of herself in profile, eyes half-closed, lips on his cheek.  “Tony?”

He whistled faux-innocently while rocking on his feet with his hands behind his back.  “Hmm?”

“It's 2:30.”  She smiled at him as she slipped the phone back into her purse and threaded her fingers through his.

~ ~ ~ ~

**Author's Note:**

> Gosh, I just have so much fun writing these two together... but I didn't create them, nor do I intend any profit or personal gain, other than the joy of receiving your comments. <3


End file.
